His memorable lines included, of course, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get,” “Momma says, ‘Stupid is as stupid does,’” and “That’s all I have to say about that.”

Participants in the ABC-People poll were given 10 nominees, selected by a panel of film experts.

The top five characters, after Gump, were James Bond, Scarlett O’Hara (from “Gone With the Wind”), Dr. Hannibal Lecter (from “Silence of the Lambs”) and Indiana Jones.

“You know, what’s really interesting to me is that the movie still resonates,” Groom said. “Apparently it reached very deeply into the American psyche.

“If I was taking that poll, Hannibal Lecter would’ve been my choice.”

Some of the 14 other categories in the poll included Best Film (“Gone With the Wind”), Best Comedy (“Airplane!”), Best Action Film (“Raiders of the Lost Ark”), Best Horror Film (“The Exorcist”) and Greatest Line (“Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”).